N  V  \  \  (£,  > 


THE  WORLD  CONFERENCE 

FOR  THE  CONSIDERATION  OF  QUESTIONS 
TOUCHING  FAITH  AND  ORDER 

1 

NORTH  AMERICAN  PREPARATORY  CONFERENCE 
^GARDEN  CITY,  LONG  ISLAND,  NEW  YORK,  U.  S.  A. 

JANUARY  4-6,  1916 


Report  of  Progress 

BY  THE  SECRETARY 

Opening  Address 

BY  THE  RT.  REV.  C.  P.  ANDERSON,  D.D. 


"iva  irdvres  £v  (3<7t,  Kad&s  <rv,  7 rdrep,  iv  i/jiol  K&yo)  £v  crol ,  Xva  sal 
ai Wol  £v  y/uv  £v  cUcriv,  'iva  6  nba^-os  TTLiTTeljirri  8ti  <ti ')  /xe  airtaTeihas. 

Ut  oranes  unum  sint,  sicut  tu  Pater  in  me,  et  ego  in  te,  ut  et 
ipsi  in  nobis  unum  sint,  ut  eredat  mundus,  quia  tu  me  misisti. 

That  they  all  may  he  one  ;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in 
thee,  that  they  also  may  he  one  in  us;  that  the  world  may  believe 
that  thou  hast  sent  me. 


[  30] 


PRINTED  FOR  THE  COMMISSION  OF 
THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
A.D.  1916 


Copies  of  this  and  of  any  other  publications  by  the 
Commission  may  be  had  on  application  to  the  Sec¬ 
retary,  Robert  H.  Gardiner,  Post  Office  Box  1153, 
Gardiner,  Maine,  U.  S.  A. 

Names  are  not  entered  on  the  permanent  mailing 
list  to  which  all  publications  are  sent,  unless  the 
Secretary  receives  a  personal  request;  but  the  Com¬ 
mission  is  glad  to  enter  on  that  list  all  who  will  write 
to  the  Secretary  that  they  desire  to  receive  future 
publications. 

A  full  list  of  the  publications  of  the  Commission 
will  be  found  on  page  28  of  this  paper.  Those  who 
have  not  received  all  of  them  may  obtain  missing 
issues  by  applying  to  the  Secretary. 

These  papers  are  deemed  worthy  of  publication  by 
the  Commission  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
on  a  World  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order,  which, 
however,  does  not  hold  itself  responsible  for  any 
statement  or  opinion  therein  expressed. 


AT  meetings  of  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  World  Conference 
■l\.  on  Faith  and  Order,  held  on  April  7  and  June  16,  1915,  it  was 
voted  to  call  a  Conference  of  all  the  members  of  all  the  Commissions 
appointed  in  North  America,  to  further  the  movement  for  the  World 
Conference  and  to  consider  plans  for  future  procedure. 

This  Conference  was  held  at  Garden  City,  Long  Island,  New  York, 
January  4-6,  1916. 

The  number  of  delegates  present  from  each  Communion  was  as 
follows : 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
15. 

The  Church  of  England  in  Canada,  1. 

Northern  Baptist  Convention,  1. 

Seventh  Day  Baptist  General  Conference,  4. 

National  Council  of  Congregational  Churches  in  the  United 
States,  4. 

The  Disciples  of  Christ,  North  America,  8. 

Society  of  Friends  in  America,  3. 

General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  5. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  2. 

Moravian  Church  in  America,  Northern  Province,  2. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.,  11. 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  2. 

Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States,  1. 

United  Presbyterian  Church  of  N.  A.,  2. 

Executive  Committee  of  the  Executive  Commission  of  the  Alliance 
of  Reformed  Churches  holding  the  Presbyterian  System,  West¬ 
ern  or  American  Section,  2. 

At  this  Conference,  the  following  Declaration  and  Statement  of 
the  Spiritual  Basis  of  the  World  Conference,  which  are  in  no  way  bind¬ 
ing  upon  any  Commission  or  Committee  not  represented  at  Garden 
City,  were  adopted. 

DECLARATION 

Five  years  ago  the  plan  of  a  World  Conference  of  Christian  Churches 
was  first  proposed.  We  did  not  dream  then  that  nation  was  about  to 

[  3  ] 


rise  against  nation,  and  that  there  would  be  the  present  great  tribu¬ 
lation,  such  as  hath  not  been  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  until 
now.  The  catastrophe  which  has  fallen  upon  modern  civilization  may 
be  hastening  the  time  for  a  united  Church  to  come  forth  as  one  power 
and  with  one  obedience  to  make  the  rule  of  Christianity  the  law  of 
the  nations.  For  this  end  we  may  devoutly  trust  that  beyond  all  fore¬ 
sight  of  men  a  higher  leading  may  prove  to  have  been  in  the  call  for 
a  gathering  of  representatives  of  Christian  Churches  of  every  name 
and  from  all  lands  as  the  next  step  toward  unity.  Its  appointed  hour 
shall  come  when  the  war  shall  have  burnt  itself  out.  In  the  new  age, 
born  of  the  travail  of  the  nations,  shall  be  found  the  new  occasion  for 
the  Christian  reconstruction  of  society.  The  vastness  of  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  is  the  measure  of  the  obligation  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  It  is 
now  the  bounden  duty  of  organized  Christianity,  in  repentance  for 
its  sins,  and  with  an  entire  devotion,  to  make  ready  the  way  of  the 
Lord.  For  the  American  Churches  this  supreme  obligation  begins  at 
home.  To  do  our  full  part  we  must  study  seriously,  as  we  never  have 
done  before,  the  things  that  make  for  peace.  In  the  profound  humil¬ 
ity  of  the  highest  and  hence  broadest  vision  of  the  Church  of  God  and 
its  world-wide  mission  in  this  generation,  as  representatives  of  our 
respective  communions  we  would  here  renew  our  mutual  assurances 
of  cooperation  in  promoting  the  ends  of  the  World  Conference,  and 
declare  our  earnest  expectation  that  through  the  way  of  conference, 
which  we  have  entered,  we  may  be  led  to  know  what  is  the  good  and 
acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God  for  His  Church  throughout  the 
world. 

SPIRITUAL  BASIS  OF  THE  WORLD  CONFERENCE 

I.  The  basis  of  the  proposed  World  Conference  is  the  faith  of  the 
whole  Church,  as  created  by  Christ,  resting  on  the  Incarnation  and 
continued  from  age  to  age  by  His  indwelling  Life  until  He  comes. 

II.  The  invitation  of  the  World  Conference  appeals  directly  to  the 
Christian  conviction  of  the  essential  and  indestructible  wholeness  of 
the  one  Church  of  God  throughout  the  world.  “I  am  the  vine,  ye  are 
the  branches,”  said  the  Lord  to  His  disciples.  “Christ’s  Body,  the  full¬ 
ness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all,”  said  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 
“Fellowship  with  us  in  the  life  that  was  manifested,”  declared  St. 
John.  This  primitive  Christian  consciousness  of  the  oneness  of  the 
Church  found  expression  in  the  earliest  use  of  the  word  Catholic; 

[  ^  ] 


“Wherever  Jesus  Christ  is,  there  is  the  Catholic  Church,”  said  Igna¬ 
tius  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  century  after  Christ.  This  abiding 
consciousness  of  the  oneness  of  the  Church  was  confessed  in  the  creed 
of  the  ancient  Catholic  Church.  It  remains  alike  in  the  faith  of  the 
Eastern  Church  and  the  Roman  Church.  Notwithstanding  the  con¬ 
troversies  of  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  these  great  words  are  ever 
repeated  throughout  the  confessions  and  declarations  of  faith  of  the 
diffei’ent  communions,  “One  holy  universal  Church,  the  communion 
and  assembly  of  all  the  saints, .  .  .  the  unity  of  the  Catholic  Church 1 
“One  catholic  or  universal  Church;”2  “Which  Kirk  is  catholic,  that 
is,  universal;”3  “The  catholic  or  universal  Church;”4  “One  Church 
in  the  world;”5  “The  holy  universal  Christian  Church;”6  “The  visi¬ 
ble  Catholique  Church  of  Christ;”7  “We  believe  in  the  holy  catholic 
Church;”8  “Also  they  believe  and  teach  that  one  Holy  Church  is  to 
continue  forever.”9 

III.  The  call  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity  for  a  World  Conference 
at  this  epochal  hour  is  given  in  Our  Lord’s  new  commandment  of  love; 
it  is  the  call  of  Christ’s  love  for  a  whole  Church  to  carry  salvation  to 
the  whole  world. 

IV.  The  Method  of  Conference.  It  is  simple  as  it  is  most  Christian. 
It  is  for  each  communion  to  think  and  to  act  in  terms  of  the  whole. 
It  is  positive;  for  in  and  through  our  relation  to  the  whole  Church 
may  we  rightly  and  finally  determine  our  relations  to  one  another. 
It  is  negative  only  in  so  far  as  it  protests  against  the  fact  of  continued 
schism. 

The  Report  and  the  Address  which  follow  were  delivered  at  the  Con¬ 
ference  at  Garden  City. 


1  First  Helvetic  Conf.  (1536).  2  Belgic  Conf.  (1661).  8  Scotch  Conf.  (1660). 

4  Westminster  Conf.  (1647),  also  Conf.  of  the  English  Baptists  (1677). 

6  Conf.  of  the  Waldenses  (1666).  6  Easter  Litany  of  the  Moravian  Church  (1749). 

7  Savoy  Declaration,  Cong.  (1668).  8  Declaration  of  the  National  Cong.  Council  (1871). 

9  Augsburg  Conf.  (1630).  The  Methodist  definition  of  the  Church  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Church  of  England.  Similar  citations  might  be  added  from  the  various  catechisms  and 
other  minor  or  repeated  declarations  of  faith. 

[  5  ] 


REPORT  BY  THE  SECRETARY 
OF  THE  PROGRESS  MADE 
IN  THE  WORLD  CONFERENCE  MOVEMENT 

COMMISSIONS  or  Committees  to  cooperate  in  arranging  for 
and  conducting  the  World  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order 
have  been  appointed  by  fifty-seven  Communions.  A  detailed  list 
with  the  names  of  the  members  has  been  printed  and  may  be  had 
from  the  Secretary  (Pamphlet  No.  21). 

We  have  secured  the  cooperation  of  substantially  all  the  im¬ 
portant  Communions  in  the  world  except  those  on  the  Continent 
of  Europe  and  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Holy  Orthodox  Eastern 
Churches.  The  articles  which  have  been  written  by  leading  the¬ 
ologians  in  Russian  ecclesiastical  reviews  give  good  ground  for 
hope  of  the  cooperation  of  the  Russian  Church,  which  will  prob¬ 
ably  be  of  great  value  in  securing  the  help  of  the  other  National 
Eastern  Churches;  and  the  correspondence  before  the  war  with 
Protestants  on  the  Continent  of  Europe  seemed  to  make  it  cer¬ 
tain  that  they  would  accept  the  invitation  when  the  deputation 
to  Europe  had  explained  the  matter  fully. 

A  number  of  invitations  have  been  issued  by  the  Episcopal 
Commission  which  have  not  yet  been  accepted,  but  in  some  cases, 
while  the  national  body  invited  has  not  yet  accepted  the  invita¬ 
tion,  perhaps  because  it  has  not  yet  had  a  meeting,  local  branches 
of  the  body  have  appointed  Commissions.  It  is  presumed  that,  in 
such  cases,  after  the  appointment  of  a  Commission  by  the  national 
body,  the  local  Commissions  will  be  ancillary  to  it.  In  the  case 
of  almost  every  Communion  which  has  not  yet  accepted,  leading 
individuals  are  cordially  in  sympathy  with  us  and  can  be  relied 
upon  to  do  their  utmost  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  their  respec¬ 
tive  Communions. 

Where  the  size  of  the  country  and  other  conditions  make  it 
practicable,  perhaps  the  ideal  plan  is  that  which  is  being  pursued 
in  the  West  Indies,  where  the  Archbishop  is  in  touch  with  the 
leading  Communions  and  will  see  that  Commissions  are  appointed 
at  the  proper  time  or  perhaps  a  joint  Commission  for  them  all. 

C  7  ] 


In  1912  a  deputation  from  the  Commission  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  visited  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  the  Anglican  Communions  there.  The  result  was 
the  appointment  of  a  Committee  by  the  Archbishops  in  England 
and  of  Commissions  by  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Scotland  and 
the  Church  of  Ireland.  A  report  of  their  visit  is  contained  in  the 
Report  to  the  General  Convention  of  the  Episcopal  Church  by 
its  Commission,  which  may  be  had  from  the  Secretary  (Pamphlet 
No.  23). 

In  1913,  at  the  request  and  expense  of  the  Commission  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  a  deputation  consisting  of  Rev.  Newman 
Smyth,  D.D.,  of  the  Congregational  Commission;  Rev.  W.  H. 
Roberts,  D.D.,  of  the  Commission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  U.  S.  A.;  and  Rev.  Peter  Ainslie,  D.D.,  of  the  Commis¬ 
sion  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ,  visited  England  and  Scotland  to 
secure  the  cooperation  of  the  Churches  other  than  the  Anglican. 
They  met  also  members  of  the  non-Anglican  Churches  of  Ire¬ 
land.  Bishop  John  W.  Hamilton  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Jowett,  D.D., 
who  had  been  asked  to  serve  on  the  deputation,  were  unable  to  go. 
The  deputation  met  thirty-one  groups  in  conference  in  England 
and  Scotland,  including  the  Archbishops’  Committee  and  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  all  the  leading  Communions  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  and  secured  promises,  since  fulfilled,  of  the  appointment 
of  Commissions  by  the  Free  Churches.  A  report  of  this  visit  is 
found  in  Pamphlet  No.  27,  issued  by  the  Commission  of  the  Epis¬ 
copal  Church,  which  may  be  had  from  the  Secretary. 

In  1914  the  Commission  of  the  Episcopal  Church  had  arranged 
to  send  a  deputation  consisting  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  C.  P.  Anderson, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Chicago;  the  Rt.  Rev.  C.  B.  Brewster,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Connecticut;  the  Rt.  Rev.  P.  M.  Rhinelander,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Rev.  William  T.  Manning,  D.D., 
to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  Churches  of  the  Continent  of  Eu¬ 
rope  and  the  Near  East  and  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The 
European  war  broke  out  a  few  days  before  the  deputation  had 
intended  to  sail  and,  of  course,  their  visit  had  to  be  postponed. 

At  their  request  and  in  preparation  for  their  visit  the  Secre¬ 
tary  had  written  to  leading  men  in  the  various  important  Com- 


munions  coming  within  the  scope  of  the  Conference  in  Armenia, 
Austria,  Belgium,  Bohemia,  Bulgaria,  Denmark,  Egypt,  Finland, 
France,  Germany,  Greece,  Holland,  Hungary,  Italy,  Jerusalem, 
Montenegro,  Moravia,  the  Netherlands,  Norway,  Roumania,  Rus¬ 
sia,  Servia,  Sweden,  Switzerland  and  Turkey  (Constantinople). 

These  letters  included  the  Ecumenical  Patriarch  at  Constan¬ 
tinople,  all  the  Patriarchs  and  Metropolitans  of  the  Greek  and 
Armenian  Churches,  the  heads  of  the  Eastern  Orthodox  Churches 
in  Bukowina  and  Dalmatia,  Bulgaria,  Montenegro,  Roumania  and 
Servia,  with  the  Metropolitans  of  the  Orthodox  Roumanians  in 
Hungary  and  Transylvania  and  of  the  Servians  in  Hungary  and 
the  Roman  Catholic  Primate  of  Servia.  The  Archbishop  of  Zante 
was  included  because  he  had  been  very  cordial  to  Dr.  John  R. 
Mott,  and  the  Bishop  of  Vellas  and  Konitsa,  with  whom  the  Sec¬ 
retary  has  personal  relations.  Letters  were  also  written  to  the  Su¬ 
perintendents  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Bohemia  and  Hungary 
and  of  the  Reformed  Churches  in  Austria,  Bohemia,  Hungary 
and  Moravia,  to  Dr.  Soderblom,  since  consecrated  Archbishop  of 
Upsala,  the  Archbishop  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  in 
Finland,  the  Bishop  of  Seland,  the  chief  officers  of  the  Supreme 
Council  of  the  Evangelical  Church  in  Germany  and  of  its  subor¬ 
dinate  sections,  of  both  the  Reformed  Churches  in  the  Nether¬ 
lands,  the  Chairman  of  the  Clerical  Union  of  the  Church  of  Nor¬ 
way,  officials  of  the  Baptist,  Lutheran,  Methodist  and  Reformed 
Communions  in  France,  and  of  the  Waldensian  Church.  Many  let¬ 
ters  were  written  to  leading  Protestants  in  Belgium  and  Switzer¬ 
land,  and  to  others  than  those  officials  above  mentioned  in  various 
countries.  With  each  letter  were  sent  the  more  important  of  the 
publications  of  the  Episcopal  Commission,  including  as  far  as  pos¬ 
sible  the  translation  of  Leaflet  No.  2  into  the  appropriate  language. 

Of  the  replies  received  niention  should  be  made  especially  of  the 
cordiality  of  those  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Primate  of  Servia, 
Archbishop  Johansson  of  Finland,  several  officials  of  the  Evan¬ 
gelical  Church  in  Germany,  of  the  Reformed  Churches  in  the 
Netherlands,  the  Chairman  of  the  Clerical  Union  of  the  Church 
of  Norway,  and  the  present  Archbishop  of  Upsala. 

Committees  had  been  appointed  to  receive  the  deputation  in 

[  9  ] 


Norway  and  Hungary.  Bishop  Ostenfeld  of  Seland,  at  Copenha¬ 
gen,  had  invited  the  deputation  to  breakfast  with  him  at  1  o’clock 
on  September  8,  and  the  Archbishop  of  Finland  was  arranging 
about  rooms  at  a  hotel.  In  every  country  in  Northern  and  Cen¬ 
tral  Europe  one  or  more  individuals  had  been  found  who  were 
engaged  in  making  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  the  deputa¬ 
tion.  The  Secretary  had  personal  interviews  as  to  the  visit  of  the 
deputation  with  a  distinguished  Roman  Catholic  abbe  and  several 
Protestant  ministers  in  Paris.  He  had  expected  to  meet  a  number 
of  important  men  from  various  parts  of  Europe  at  the  Church 
Peace  Congress  at  Constance,  but  few  of  them  were  able  to  arrive, 
and  the  war  has  prevented  the  continuance  of  personal  relations 
with  the  two  or  three  whom  the  Secretary  met  there. 

To  many  of  the  letters  written  no  answers  were  received.  Some 
of  the  letters  probably  did  not  reach  their  destination  until  about 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  Perhaps  the  chief  difficulty  was  that 
the  Secretary,  having  then  no  linguistic  assistance,  was  obliged 
to  write  in  English.  A  minor  obstacle  was  the  confusion  between 
the  Secretary’s  surname  and  that  of  his  post-office,  which  caused 
some  misdirections  of  letters  which  ultimately  reached  him  and 
probably  of  others  which  did  not.  Care  is  now  being  taken  to  avoid 
this.  He  had,  however, reason  to  believe  that,  in  some  cases,  though 
he  received  no  replies,  the  matter  was  made  known  through  reli¬ 
gious  and  secular  papers  and  reviews. 

The  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Episcopal 
Commission  had  written  to  His  Holiness  Vladimir,  Metropolitan 
of  St.  Petersburg  and  Lagoda,  then  presiding  member  of  the  Most 
Holy  Governing  Synod  of  the  Russian  Orthodox  Church;  the 
Honorable  Nicholas  Nicholaevich  Lodizensky,  special  representa¬ 
tive  to  His  Excellency  the  Attorney-General,  Chief  Procurator  of 
the  Most  Holy  Governing  Synod;  His  Grace  Sergy,  Archbishop 
of  Finland,  member  of  the  Most  Holy  Governing  Synod ;  and 
to  His  Excellency  Vladimir  Carlovitch  Sabler,  Attorney-General, 
Chief  Procurator  of  the  Most  Holy  Governing  Synod  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Orthodox  Church. 

The  Secretary  had  also  written  to  Cardinal  Mercier  of  Belgium, 
the  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Norway,  and  Cardinal  Amette  of  Paris, 

[  10  ] 


requesting  them  to  permit  the  deputation  to  call  upon  them,  and 
the  permission  was  in  each  case  given  cordially. 

A  tentative  itinerary  had  been  arranged  covering  the  countries 
of  Northern,  Central  and  Western  Europe,  but  it  was  found  im¬ 
possible  to  arrange,  so  long  beforehand,  the  itinerary  to  include 
Southeastern  Europe,  Southwestern  Asia  and  Egypt,  and  defi¬ 
nite  appointments  for  those  countries  were  left  to  be  made  by  the 
deputation  later. 

The  desire  for  family  reunion  among  the  divisions  of  some  of 
the  leading  groups  of  Christians  seems  to  be  increasing  and  many 
important  negotiations  to  that  end  are  being  continued.  Not  the 
least  of  the  advantages  to  be  gained  by  a  vigorous  and  general 
movement  for  the  World  Conference  will  be  the  bringing  back  to 
the  unity  of  one  Communion  its  separated  branches.  And  that  will 
help  the  World  Conference  by  reducing  the  number  of  questions 
to  be  considered,  and  by  bringing  out  so  clearly  the  distinctive 
principles  for  which  each  Communion  stands  that  others  can  ap¬ 
preciate  their  value  as  elements  of  the  complete  comprehension 
of  the  Christian  Faith. 

The  Commission  of  the  Episcopal  Church  has  continued  the 
publication  of  pamphlets  about  the  World  Conference,  though 
not  so  actively  in  the  last  year  as  in  those  preceding.  The  total 
number  of  pamphlets  printed  is  984,000,  most  of  which  have  been 
distributed  all  over  the  world.  A  list  of  about  600  newspapers  has 
been  made  up  to  which  occasional  bulletins  of  progress  are  sent. 
The  countries  represented  are  the  United  States,  Canada,  Belgium, 
France,  Germany,  Sweden,  Norway,  Finland,  Russia,  Switzerland, 
Spain,  Egypt,  East  Africa,  South  Africa,  Australia,  India,  Korea, 
Argentina  and  Chili. 

There  are  more  than  12,000  names  of  individuals  to  whom  the 
publications  of  the  Episcopal  Commission  are  regularly  sent.  This 
list  includes  almost  every  country  in  the  world. 

The  Commission  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  in  the  United  States 
has  established  a  magazine,  the  Christian  Union  Quarterly ,  which 
has  a  large  circulation  and  has  contained  some  excellent  articles. 

It  had  been  hoped  that  the  Manual  of  Prayer  would  have  a 
large  circulation,  but  only  344  copies,  in  addition  to  the  single 

[  11  ] 


copy  mailed  to  each  name  on  the  mailing  list,  have  been  applied 
for.  It  is  futile  to  hope  for  progress  till  we  and  the  Communions 
we  represent  have  given  ourselves  utterly  to  prayer  for  grace  to 
wait  upon  God  and  to  seek  and  follow  His  Will.  So  far  as  is  known, 
nothing  has  been  done  anywhere  in  the  way  of  establishing  daily 
public  services  of  intercession  for  reunion  beyond  the  continu¬ 
ance  by  liturgical  Churches  of  prayers  already  in  use  and  a  some¬ 
what  larger  use  in  the  Anglican  Communion  of  the  prayer  for 
unity  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  or  of  one  or  more  of  the 
prayers  suggested  by  the  Episcopal  Commission,  one  of  which  is 
a  translation  of  one  used  in  the  daily  Roman  Mass.  It  would 
seem  possible  that  wherever  daily  services  are  already  maintained, 
one  or  more  of  them  each  week  should  be  held  for  this  special 
purpose. 

The  Episcopal  Commission  is  now  engaged  in  securing  the 
approval  and  cooperation  of  the  Bishops  in  the  United  States 
for  an  effort  to  arrange  for  such  daily,  or  at  least  weekly,  services 
in  as  many  Episcopal  Churches  as  possible.  It  should  be  possible 
for  other  Commissions  to  make  a  similar  effort.  If  we  cannot  yet 
always  pray  together,  we  might  at  least  pray  at  the  same  time 
and  for  the  same  purpose. 

Even  after  the  breaking  out  of  war  in  Europe,  a  considerable 
number  of  letters  have  been  written  to  eminent  individuals  in 
Europe  and  the  Near  East,  and  as  the  Secretary  has  now  the  help 
of  a  competent  translator,  so  that  letters  can  be  written  in  Latin, 
French  and  Italian,  or  with  the  suggestion  that  replies  may  be 
written  in  those  languages  or  in  Modern  Greek,  Russian  or  Ger¬ 
man,  the  proportion  of  answers  received  has  greatly  increased.  To 
a  letter  written  to  Cardinal  Gasparri,  which  was  not  intended  to 
be  official,  His  Eminence  replied  at  length  and  cordially,  speak¬ 
ing  for  the  Pope  as  well  as  for  himself. 

The  following  translations  of  extracts  from  his  letters  may  be 
of  interest: 


From  the  Vatican,  December  IS,  1914 


YOUR  project  of  an  international  convention  of  all  who  be¬ 
lieve  in  Jesus  Christ  as  God  and  Saviour  to  accomplish  the 
speedy  fulfilment  of  the  final  prayer  of  the  Lord,  that  all  may  be 

[  12  ] 


one,  I  have,  in  obedience  to  your  request,  submitted  to  the  Most 
Blessed  Father.  I  need  not  here  describe  the  affection  with  which 
I  saw  the  August  Pontiff  kindled  for  you.  For  you  well  know  that 
the  plans  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs,  their  cares  and  their  labors  have 
always  been  specially  directed  to  the  end  that  the  sole  and  unique 
Church  which  Jesus  Christ  ordained  and  sanctified  with  His  divine 
Blood  should  be  most  zealously  guarded  and  maintained,  whole, 
pure  and  ever  abounding  in  love,  and  that  it  should  both  let  its 
light  shine  and  open  wide  its  door  for  all  who  rejoice  in  the  name 
of  man  and  who  desire  to  gain  holiness  upon  earth  and  eternal 
happiness  in  heaven. 

The  August  Pontiff,  therefore,  was  pleased  with  your  project 
of  examining  in  a  sincere  spirit  and  without  prejudice  the  essential 
form  of  the  Church  (or  the  inner  essence  of  the  Church),  and  He 
earnestly  hopes  that  under  the  spell  of  its  native  beauty  you  may 
settle  all  disputes  and  work  with  prosperous  issue  to  the  end  that 
the  mystical  body  of  Christ  be  no  longer  suffered  to  be  rent  and 
torn,  but  that  by  harmony  and  cooperation  of  men’s  minds  and 
likewise  by  the  concord  of  their  wills,  unity  of  faith  and  com¬ 
munion  may  at  last  prevail  throughout  the  world  of  men. 

Thanking  you,  then,  that  you  have  thought  well  to  request 
the  aid  and  support  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  in  expediting  your 
worthy  project,  His  Holiness  expresses  His  earnest  desire  that 
the  end  may  answer  your  expectation,  and  He  asks  the  same  of 
Christ  Jesus  with  fervent  prayers,  all  the  more  because,  with  the 
voice  of  Christ  Himself  sounding  before  and  bidding  Him,  He 
knows  that  He  Himself,  as  the  one  to  whom  all  men  have  been 
given  over  to  be  fed,  is  the  source  and  cause  of  the  unity  of  the 
Church. 

To  a  request  for  permission  to  give  this  letter  some  publicity, 
His  Eminence  replied,  in  part: 

From  the  Vatican,  7  April,  1915 

THE  August  Pontiff,  therefore,  kindly  permits  that  copies 
of  my  letters,  which,  though  a  faithful,  are  yet  but  a  faint, 
portrait  of  the  Pontifical  love,  shall  be  sent  to  all  to  whose  welfare 
and  peace  you  believe  they  will  contribute. 

[  13  ] 


It  is  a  pleasure  to  repeat  the  encouragement  that  the  aid  and 
earnest  prayers  of  the  Roman  Pontiff  will  never  be  lacking  to  any 
one  who,  having  freed  himself  from  prejudiced  opinions,  with  a 
true  and  sincere  will  strives  with  all  his  strength  that  the  unity 
of  faith  and  fellowship  instituted  by  Christ  and  built  upon  Peter 
may  be  restored,  and  that  all  who  are  enrolled  in  the  name  of 
Christian  may  betake  themselves  to  the  bosom  of  the  one  most 
loving  Church  and  may  be  joined  and  associated  as  members  with 
Christ  the  Head. 

Probably  more  has  been  published  in  Europe  about  the  World 
Conference  than  the  Secretary  has  heard  of.  He  had  received  or 
been  told  of  the  following  before  the  war: 

The  Internationale  Kirchliche  Zeitschrift,  the  organ  of  the  Old 
Catholic  Churches  of  Europe,  had  commented  several  times  on  the 
undertaking.  Articles  had  appeared  in  Die  Reformation ,  a  German 
Protestant  review,  the  Church  Times ,  of  Christiania,  Norway, 
Through  All  the  Nations ,  of  Stockholm,  Sweden,  Kotimaa ,  and 
also  Vartija,  both  of  Helsingfors,  Finland,  Protestans  Egyhazi 
es  Iskolai  Lap ,  Budapest,  and  Lelkesz-Eygesulet ,  Debreczen. 

Since  the  war  began,  several  articles  have  appeared  in  Tserkov- 
nyia  Viedomosti,  the  organ  of  the  Holy  Governing  Synod  of  Rus¬ 
sia,  and  in  Tserkovnyi  Viestnik,  both  of  Petrograd,  and  one  in 
La  Ciencia  Tomista ,  Madrid,  the  organ  of  the  Spanish  Domini¬ 
cans.  All  these  speak  sympathetically  of  the  proposal  of  the  Con¬ 
ference,  though  not  abandoning  the  positions  of  their  respective 
Communions. 

The  Ekklesiastikos  Pharos ,  the  organ  of  the  Greek  Patriarchate 
of  Alexandria,  Egypt,  has  published  an  article  explaining  the 
World  Conference.  At  the  request  of  the  editor  of  Coenobium, 
a  philosophical  and  religious  review  published  at  Lugano,  Swit¬ 
zerland,  an  article  has  lately  been  sent  to  him. 

In  reply  to  a  letter  explaining  the  movement,  Archbishop  Anto- 
nius  of  Kharkov,  Russia,  published  in  the  Viera  i  Razum  and  after¬ 
wards  circulated  as  a  pamphlet  an  article  maintaining  that  there 
could  only  be  one  true  Church,  and  that  the  World  Conference 
was  useless  because  the  only  road  to  unity  lies  in  submission  to  that 

[  14  ] 


Church.  In  reply  to  a  second  letter  giving  further  explanations,  he 
also  so  published  and  circulated  another  article  in  which  he  says: 

YOUR  kind  letter  consists  of  two  distinct  elements:  the  one 
concerns  matters  of  faith,  and  the  second,  the  meaning  and 
value  of  the  proposed  American  Conference  on  these  matters.  I 
agree  entirely  with  the  latter  proposal:  I  do  not  entertain  any 
doubt  with  regard  to  the  purposes  of  the  organizers  of  the  Con¬ 
ference.  They  are  not  at  all  seeking  to  proselyte  to  the  advantage 
of  their  own  Church.  Their  aims,  I  am  convinced,  are  beneficent 
and  high-minded,  as  is  plain  by  the  appeals  of  the  Executive  Com¬ 
mission.  I  have  no  doubt,  also,  that  by  such  tolerant  and  learned 
relations  to  the  matter,  no  misconceptions  about  the  dogmatic 
definitions  of  the  Church  will  arise :  therefore,  if  I  shall  not  be 
able  to  renounce  for  a  long  time  the  task  assigned  to  me,  and  to 
cross  the  ocean,  in  any  case  I  shall  give  my  blessing  and  my  ap¬ 
proval  to  my  numerous  spiritual  friends,  Bishops,  priests,  monks 
and  laymen,  who  will  ask  me  for  counsel  about  the  World  Confer¬ 
ence  and  will  leave  for  America. 

So  far  as  time  and  strength  permitted,  the  effort  has  been  made 
to  interest  individuals  in  different  parts  of  the  world  and  of  various 
Communions  by  following  up  articles  in  reviews,  and  newspaper 
reports  of  sermons,  addresses  or  conferences  relating  to  reunion. 
It  is  believed  that  in  this  way  some  valuable  support  has  been  ob¬ 
tained,  or  that  at  least  the  knowledge  of  the  movement  has  been 
spread.  And  it  is  believed  that  the  widest  possible  knowledge  of 
the  movement  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Whether  the  emphasis 
be  placed  on  the  corporate  life  or  on  the  freedom  of  the  individual, 
all  Christians  will  acknowledge  that  questions  of  Faith  and  Order 
must  be  decided  by  the  whole  body,  and  not  by  a  few  individ¬ 
uals,  however  eminent,  and  that  the  whole  body  must  determine 
whether  it  will  seek  reunion  with  its  brethren  or  find  some  justi¬ 
fication  for  continuing  to  stand  aloof.  It  is  in  the  prayer  not  of 
a  few,  but  of  the  whole  body,  of  the  faithful  that  this  movement 
must  be  grounded  and  carried  out.  But  to  promote  that  prayer, 
we  must  make  known  to  all  Christians,  the  humble  as  well  as  the 

[  15  ] 


exalted,  the  fact  of  the  movement.  We  must  make  clear  its  attempt 
to  enthrone  the  spirit  of  Christian  love  for  all  who,  though  they 
differ  from  us,  yet  bear  the  same  name  of  Him  Who  was  the  Mani¬ 
festation  in  human  flesh  of  God  Who  is  Love.  And  we  must  be 
ready  to  abandon  our  self-will  and  to  wait  humbly  upon  God  for 
the  revelation  of  His  Will  as  to  the  numerous  and  serious  obsta¬ 
cles  in  our  path.  We  can  make  no  progress  except  by  united  and 
fervent  prayer  that  God  will  take  our  wills  and  make  them  His, 
and  that  He  will  show  us  that  we  can  learn  about  unity,  not  sim¬ 
ply  by  thinking  about  it  and  planning  for  it,  but  by  beginning 
to  practise  it,  and  surely  the  first  step  in  that  practice  must  be  to 
pour  out  our  souls  in  prayer  which  shall  meet  and  unite  at  the 
Throne  of  grace. 

Comparatively  little  effort  seems  to  have  been  made  by  those  who 
are  on  the  list  to  which  the  publications  of  the  Episcopal  Com¬ 
mission  are  mailed,  to  secure  additional  names  in  order  to  promote 
that  wider  knowledge  of  the  movement  which  is  needed  for  its 
general  support.  It  is  submitted  that  there  should  be  a  much  wider 
distribution  of  literature  about  the  object  and  methods  proposed 
for  the  World  Conference  and  about  the  necessity  for  reunion. 
The  great  body  of  Christian  men  and  women  must  be  helped  more 
earnestly  to  desire,  and  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  the  achieve¬ 
ment  of,  God’s  purpose  of  unity.  Perhaps  one  of  the  chief  reasons 
for  lack  of  interest  is  despair  of  the  possibility  of  healing  our  divi¬ 
sions.  It  must  be  our  effort  to  dispel  this  feeling  as  far  as  possible. 

Very  much  must  be  done  to  create  the  compelling  desire  for 
true  unity  and  its  effective  manifestation,  but  it  must  also  be  made 
clear  that  the  only  road  to  that  result  is  one  of  boundless  patience, 
and,  therefore,  that  the  World  Conference  is  proposed,  not  imme¬ 
diately  for  constructive  work,  but  for  the  loving  and  sympathetic 
and  truly  catholic  consideration  of  the  points  of  difference  which 
now  keep  Christians  in  hostile  camps.  Partly  from  lack  of  com¬ 
prehension  of  the  foundations  on  which  alone  permanent  reunion 
can  rest,  partly  from  confidence  each  in  his  own  opinions  and  the 
conviction  that  all  others  must  be  wholly  wrong,  but  chiefly  from 
laudable  impatience  to  attain  reunion  at  once,  there  is  a  widely 

[  16  ] 


prevalent  desire  to  begin  the  work  of  active  reconstruction  imme¬ 
diately.  Very  few  of  the  writers  of  the  40,000  to  50,000  letters 
which  have  been  received,  have  noted  that  the  chief  object  of  the 
Conference  is  the  discussion  of  differences.  Very  many  of  them 
propose  one  concordat  or  another,  and  not  a  few  of  them  are  con¬ 
tent  to  demand,  or  at  best  to  rejoice  at  what  they  suppose  to  be 
the  prospect  of,  a  surrender  by  the  Episcopal  Church  of  most  of 
its  distinctive  tenets. 

The  distinction  between  unity  and  uniformity  is  seldom  recog¬ 
nized.  Much  patient  effort  should  be  devoted  to  making  this  clear. 
It  will  be  difficult  and  delicate  work,  for  what  one  man  regards 
as  a  matter  of  opinion  or  taste  another  will  maintain  as  essential 
to  the  Faith. 

The  fundamental  principles  of  our  undertaking,  its  limitations 
and  its  possibilities,  the  great  need  of  unity,  the  sin  and  loss  of 
disunion,  the  necessity  for  prayer,  and  the  importance  of  a  more 
thorough  knowledge,  on  the  part  of  each  Communion,  of  the  posi¬ 
tions  of  the  other  Communions,  should  be  stated  again  and  again, 
in  different  ways  and  by  different  minds,  so  that  they  may  be  more 
fully  established  and  more  thoroughly  understood.  Some  leaders 
criticise  our  publications  as  too  elementary.  The  requests  coming 
from  all  over  the  world  for  copies  of  one  or  another  of  our  pub¬ 
lications,  amounting  in  all  to  many  thousands,  and  the  letters  of 
personal  commendation  which  they  have  called  forth,  show  that 
they  are  meeting,  or  perhaps  producing,  a  widespread  need  and 
that  they  are  a  useful  agency.  The  fact,  however,  that  only  about 
12,000  individuals  have  expressed  a  wish  to  receive  the  publica¬ 
tions  regularly  show's  either  that  much  more  must  be  done  to  cre¬ 
ate  a  wider  interest,  or  that  there  is,  as  yet,  no  sufficiently  gen¬ 
eral  comprehension  of  the  object  and  aim  of  the  Conference. 

The  reason  for  the  restriction  of  the  Conference  to  those  Com¬ 
munions  throughout  the  world  which  confess  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  God  and  Saviour  must  be  made  plain.  Our  attempt  is  not  simply 
to  promote  kindly  feeling,  or  good  fellowship,  or  even  good  w'orks, 
but  to  reunite  all  Christians  in  the  one  living  Body  of  the  one 
Lord,  both  God  and  Man,  incarnate,  crucified,  buried,  risen  from 
the  dead  and  ascended  on  high,  living  to-day  the  Head  over  all 

[  17  ] 


things  to  the  Church,  which  is  His  Body,  the  fullness  of  Him  that 
filleth  all  in  all. 

The  efforts  of  the  various  Commissions  are  limited  to  bringing 
about  “a  Conference  for  the  consideration  of  questions  touching 
Faith  and  Order  ...  in  the  belief  that  the  beginnings  of  unity 
are  to  be  found  in  the  clear  statement  and  full  consideration  of 
those  things  in  which  we  differ,  as  well  as  of  those  things  in  which 
we  are  at  one.”  The  consideration  of  these  things  is  to  be  reserved 
for  the  Conference  itself.  Even  in  that  preparatory  formulation 
of  questions  which  will  be  necessary  and  desirable  in  view  of  the 
all-embracing  and  world-wide  character  of  the  Conference,  it  must 
be  quite  clear  that  nothing  other  than  the  Conference  is  the  end 
in  view,  and  no  discussion  of  the  questions  must  be  undertaken. 

We  are  not  to  attempt,  we  must  avoid  even  the  appearance  of 
attempting,  however  lovingly,  to  convert  each  other,  and  espe¬ 
cially  we  are  not  to  surrender  our  present  convictions  or  seek  from 
others  the  surrender  of  theirs. 

Centuries  of  polemics  have  left  us  unable  to  comprehend  eirenics. 
We  need  greatly  to  realize  that  the  spirit  in  which  we  should 
approach  the  Conference  is  one  of  anxious  desire  to  comprehend 
our  brethren,  that  we  may  gain  from  them,  and  of  eagerness  so 
to  exhibit  to  them  the  precious  things  of  which  we  are  stewards 
that  they  may  gain  from  us.  Many  are  yet  standing  aloof  from  us 
in  the  fear  that  the  Conference  will  lead  to  compromise  or  surren¬ 
der  of  the  truth.  It  cannot  be  stated  too  often  or  too  emphati¬ 
cally  that  nothing  is  further  from  the  plan  of  the  Conference.  We 
should  deprecate  discussions  on  principles  of  Faith  and  Order  be¬ 
tween  members  of  different  Communions,  on  account  of  the  danger 
that,  while  anticipating  the  discussions  which  the  proposed  World 
Conference  will  engage  in,  they  may  excite  an  antagonism  which 
would  have  a  tendency  to  frustrate  the  objects  which  the  Confer¬ 
ence  would  desire  to  further.  This  principle  should  be  carefully 
observed  by  us  in  the  publication  of  literature. 

The  formulation  of  the  questions  to  be  submitted  to  the  Con¬ 
ference,  or,  if  committees  are  appointed  before  the  Conference  for 
the  study  of  divisive  questions,  to  such  committees,  may  well  re- 

[  18  ] 


quire  years  of  patient  effort  and  the  consultation  of  many  minds 
in  many  parts  of  the  world.  No  matter  how  excellent  any  indi¬ 
vidual  formulation  of  such  questions  might  be,  its  effect  would 
undoubtedly  be  to  provoke  controversy,  while  its  value  would  be 
enormously  increased  if  it  were  approved  by  a  number  of  repre¬ 
sentative  men,  even  if  not  a  word  were  changed. 

The  mass  of  letters  received  by  the  Commission  of  the  Epis¬ 
copal  Church,  to  say  nothing  of  printed  matter,  sermons,  tracts, 
newspapers,  magazines,  pamphlets  and  books,  has  been  so  enor¬ 
mous  as  to  be  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  present  Secretary  to 
assimilate,  but  it  is  believed  that  the  following  attempt  at  a 
digest  is  not  altogether  inaccurate  or  incomplete. 

1.  There  is  an  increasing  desire  for  unity  as  each  writer  con¬ 
ceives  it. 

2.  There  is  very  little  agreement  as  to  what  unity  is.  Perhaps  the 
most  general  conception  is  that  unity  means  uniformity.  That  is, at 
least  implicitly,  by  no  means  confined  to  Roman  Catholic  writers. 

3.  There  is  very  little  conception  of  the  possibility  that  other 
Communions  may  have  something  of  value  for  the  Communion 
to  which  the  writer  belongs. 

4.  There  is  a  very  general  declaration,  explicit  or  implicit,  that 
unity  can  be  attained  only  by  union  with  the  Communion  to 
which  the  writer  belongs. 

5.  Many  assume  that  federation  and  cooperation  are  unity. 

6.  A  few  think  that  the  continuance  of  denominationalism  is 
desirable. 

7.  Many  writers  fail  to  observe  the  apology  made  by  the  Epis¬ 
copal  Church  for  its  aloofness  in  the  past. 

8.  Many  denounce  the  Episcopal  Church  for  not  exchanging 
pulpits,  not  recognizing  that  to  be  a  question  which  should  be 
reserved  for  the  World  Conference. 

9.  There  is  surprisingly  little  comprehension  of  the  fact  that  the 
World  Conference  is  to  be  called  largely  for  the  consideration  of 
differences. 

10.  It  is  commonly  assumed  that  the  Episcopal  Church  con¬ 
ceives  unity  as  meaning  uniformity,  and  that  the  Episcopal  Com- 

[  >9  ] 


mission  on  the  World  Conference  is  seeking  uniformity.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  statements  of  the  Episcopal  Commission  to  justify 
this  assumption. 

11.  The  question  of  orders  naturally  looms  largest,  as  most  of 
the  writers  are  clergymen.  Many  Anglicans  declare  that  unity  can 
be  reached  only  through  the  Historic  Episcopate,  while  very  many 
members  of  non-Episcopal  bodies  declare  that  the  Episcopate  will 
never  be  accepted.  Orders  are  obviously  a  question  for  the  World 
Conference. 

12.  There  is  little  evidence  of  general  comprehension,  and  some 
evidence  of  distinct  lack  of  comprehension,  of  the  difference  in  the 
conceptions  of  unity  by  those  who  believe  Christ  to  be  God  made 
man,  and  by  those  who  merely  reverence  Him  as  the  perfect  man. 

13.  There  is  little  agreement  as  to  the  nature  and  functions  of 
a  creed. 

14.  We  have,  as  yet,  hardly  touched  the  laity,  men  or  women. 

15.  It  must  be  remembered  that  thousands  of  letters  have 
not  been  preserved  which  expressed  a  warm  interest,  but  did  not 
indicate  any  specific  attitude  of  the  writer  on  the  question. 

16.  There  is  little  profound  realization  of  the  necessity  for 
prayer. 

The  Commissions  and  Committees  outside  of  the  United  States 
do  not  yet  quite  understand  that  they  are  partners  with  us,  ex¬ 
pected  to  volunteer  suggestions  as  to  the  further  conduct  of  the 
movement.  Their  attitude  is  too  much  that  of  waiting  till  they 
see  what  we  have  to  propose.  Without  their  active  assistance  we 
may  make  serious  mistakes,  and  we  cannot  secure  that  widespread 
interest  in  the  movement,  and  prayer  for  its  guidance,  which  are 
necessary  for  any  progress.  One  of  the  objects  of  this  North  Ameri¬ 
can  Conference  is  to  make  definite  suggestions  which  Commissions 
in  other  countries  can  use  as  a  basis  for  their  thought,  and  which, 
while  specific  enough  to  call  out  definite  criticism,  shall  make  it 
clear  that  we  desire  such  criticism  and  are  not  proposing  a  plan 
to  be  accepted  or  rejected  as  a  whole.  Doubtless  this  Conference 
in  formulating  such  suggestions  will  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that 
we  still  lack  the  cooperation  of  Communions,  embracing  the 

[  20  ] 


greater  number  of  Christians  in  the  world,  whose  cooperation  is 
essential,  if  we  are  so  to  lift  up  Christ  befoi’e  the  world  that  He 
may  draw  all  men  unto  Him  and  establish  His  reign  of  peace  and 
righteousness  and  love. 

To  the  prosecution  of  the  great  enterprise  in  which  we  are  engaged 
we  must  devote,  with  enthusiastic  heroism,  all  our  powers.  Each 
of  us,  unconsciously  perhaps,  has  been  thinking  of  it  first  of  all  in 
its  bearing  upon  his  own  Communion,  with  little  recognition  that 
it  is  world-wide  and  absolutely  vital  and  fundamental.  And  so  we 
have  had  but  little  faith.  Our  eyes  have  been  turned  downward 
to  the  barriers  we  have  inherited  and  have  strengthened  against 
our  brethren,  rather  than  to  the  vision  of  a  world  at  one  in  its 
Redeemer.  The  contemplation  of  that  vision  will,  by  God’s  grace, 
fill  us  wdth  the  faith  which  will  remove  the  mountains  in  our 
path  and  show  us  that,  if  we  are  to  be  God’s  instruments  in  the 
opportunity  He  has  given  us  to  bring  His  w^orld  to  Him,  all  that 
we  are,  all  that  we  have,  is  far  too  little  for  the  task. 

We  have  undertaken  to  bring  Christians  to  that  mutual  com¬ 
prehension  and  appreciation  which  is  the  necessary  preliminary  to 
directly  reconstructive  work,  for  we  believe  with  Dean  Turkevich, 
that  to  understand  is  to  love,  and  love  is  unity.  We  are  not  to  deal 
wdth  mere  questions  of  ecclesiastical  diplomacy,  of  ignoring  or 
compounding  theological  differences,  of  superficial  agreement  or 
amiable  indifference  with  regard  to  the  questions  which  have  kept 
in  separate  and  often  hostile  camps  the  armies  which  God  intends 
for  the  conquest  of  the  world.  Our  task  will  not  be  fulfilled  by  any 
human  concordat.  We  must  prepare  the  way  so  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  restore  that  unity  which  will  enable  all  who  are  mem¬ 
bers  of  Christ  to  receive  together  the  Bread  of  Life. 

Ours  is  the  opportunity  to  lead  Christians  to  put  first  things 
first,  and  to  manifest  to  the  world  the  true  Faith  which  is  the  unity 
of  the  Christian  with  the  Lord  of  Life,  and  of  all  Christians  with 
each  other  in  and  through  Him.  Every  epoch  in  the  history  of 
Christianity  has  been  crucial,  but  now  has  come  in  these  latter 
days  to  us  a  new  and  greater  opportunity  and  responsibility,  for 
Christianity  can  no  longer  endure  apparently  divided  against 

[  21  ] 


itself.  The  Old  World  is  being  swept  by  horrors  the  most  dreadful 
in  the  history  of  man.  The  New  is  drifting  in  aimless  self-com¬ 
placency, — perhaps  to  be  involved  in  this  frightful  war,  perhaps, 
and  more  probably,  to  inherit  the  supremacy  in  the  things  of  this 
world  which  will  hide  from  our  eyes  for  generations  to  come  the 
things  which  are  eternal.  We  have  been  preaching  or  hearing 
Christmas  sermons  about  peace  to  men  of  good  will.  God  is  giving 
us  the  opportunity  so  to  surrender  ourselves  to  Him  during  these 
four  days  that  we  may  be  filled  with  Christ’s  good  Will  and  do 
our  part  to  manifest  to  the  world  the  Prince  of  Peace.  But  the 
world  will  not  listen  unless  our  message  is  vital,  and  only  in  the 
unity  of  the  one  Body  of  Christ  is  perfect  life.  Until  we  present 
to  the  world  the  glory  of  the  visible  unity  of  the  Church  which 
is  that  Body,  the  good  news  of  the  coming  of  the  Prince  of  Peace 
will  never  be  so  heard  as  to  establish  His  Kingdom. 

A  distracted  Europe,  a  self-complacent  America,  and  a  divided 
Christendom  which  can  speak  only  with  uncertain  voice  —  the 
unceasing  thought  of  these  must  set  the  tone  of  our  discussions 
and  bring  us  again  and  again  to  our  knees. 

If  we  wait  here  upon  God  in  utter  submission  to  His  Will,  He 
will  guide  us  into  His  truth  and  will  give  us  abundant  grace 
and  strength.  So  only  shall  we  be  able  during  this  coming  year 
to  devote  all  our  united  strength  of  heart  and  mind  and  soul  to 
the  healing  of  those  wounds  in  the  Body  of  Christ  which  now 
impair  His  perfect  work,  and  He,  no  longer  obscured  by  us  and 
our  differences,  will  be  so  lifted  up  before  the  world  that  He 
will  draw  all  men  unto  Him. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Robert  H.  Gardiner 
Secretary  of  the  Advisory  Committee  of  the  Commis¬ 
sions  on  a  World  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order 


[ 22  ] 


INTRODUCTORY  ADDRESS  AT  THE 
GARDEN  CITY  CONFERENCE 
Delivered  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Charles  P.  Anderson,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

BISHOP  OF  CHICAGO,  MODERATOR  AT  THE  FIRST  SESSION 

Brethren  and  Friends: 

I  ESTEEM  it  an  honor  and  privilege  to  be  presented  to  you 
as  the  Moderator  of  the  first  session  of  this  Preparatory  Con¬ 
ference.  Perhaps  it  will  be  proper  for  me,  on  the  threshold  of  our 
deliberations,  to  try  to  indicate  the  character  and  purpose  of  this 
meeting  and  of  the  World  Conference  for  which  it  would  make 
preparation.  My  thoughts  group  themselves  under  two  heads  — 
letter  and  spirit.  The  spirit  of  this  meeting  should  be  and  must 
be  the  spirit  of  hope  and  faith  and  expectancy.  This  on  the  one 
hand.  On  the  other  hand  we  have  to  be  governed  by  certain  spe¬ 
cific  instructions  which  accompanied  our  appointment  as  repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  Churches  under  whose  authority  we  act.  We  are 
to  open  our  hearts  and  minds  to  each  other  and  to  the  guid¬ 
ing  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  agents  of  those  bodies  from 
whom  we  have  received  a  limited  and  well-defined  commission. 

We  have  come  here  to  confer  about  a  World  Conference  on 
Faith  and  Order.  We  are  here  to  consider  how  the  arrangements 
for  that  conference  can  be  advanced.  This  meeting  is  not  a  Con¬ 
ference  on  Faith  and  Order,  but  a  consultation  on  ways  and  means 
of  bringing  about  a  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order.  The  confer¬ 
ence  which  we  are  here  to  promote  is  to  be  a  World  Conference. 
It  is  to  be  world-wide  in  its  scope.  It  is  not  to  be  an  American 
gathering,  nor  a  European  gathering,  nor  a  gathering  confined 
to  any  geographical  limits.  It  aims  to  encompass  representatives 
of  practically  every  nation  and  race  and  people  and  language  in 
the  world.  It  is  not  only  a  world-wide  conference,  but  a  Church¬ 
wide  conference  also.  It  aims  to  embrace  all  those  forms  of  organ¬ 
ized  Christianity  which  have  at  their  centre  allegiance  to  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  It  is  not  to  be,  if  its  plans 
carrv,  a  pan-Protestant  conference,  nor  a  pan-Catholic  conference. 

[  23  ] 


It  is  to  be  pan-Christian.  It  is  neither  sectional  nor  sectarian  nor 
partial  nor  partisan  in  its  conception.  It  seeks  to  be  truly  repre¬ 
sentative  of  all  Christendom,  thoroughly  ecumenical  in  its  reach, 
but  without  authority  to  legislate  or  to  bind  participating  bodies. 
It  is  a  conference  wherein  no  compromise  nor  embarrassment  can 
overtake  any  member,  but  which  is  nevertheless  inspired  by  the 
holy  hope  that  it  will  prove  to  be  a  step  toward  the  realization  and 
manifestation  of  corporate  unity  amongst  all  who  profess  and  call 
themselves  Christians. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that  such  a  conference,  unique  in  the 
world’s  history,  sublime  in  its  purpose,  requires  on  the  part  of  its 
promoters  abundant  charity,  wide  sympathy,  a  capacity  for  dis¬ 
covering  spiritual  wealth  in  unexpected  quarters,  an  open  mind 
that  seeks  only  the  truth,  a  heart  that  loves  the  whole  brother¬ 
hood,  a  freedom  from  inherited  pride  and  prejudice,  and  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  a  catholic  and  cosmopolitan  temper. 

On  first  thought  the  bigness  of  the  plan  seems  to  make  it  im¬ 
practical,  if  not  impossible.  On  second  thought,  however,  it  is  its 
very  bigness  which  seems  to  make  it  possible  and  practicable.  Its 
wide  scope  lifts  it  above  local  difficulties.  It  lifts  it  above  the  spirit 
of  the  age  into  the  spirit  of  the  ages.  There  is  scarcely  a  nation 
in  the  world  to-day  wherein  a  national  conference  for  the  same 
purpose  could  take  place.  Political  complications,  educational 
controversies,  social  inequalities  between  established  and  unestab¬ 
lished  Churches, — these  and  conditions  such  as  these  make  na¬ 
tional  conferences  on  Faith  and  Order  quite  impracticable.  But 
a  World  Conference  lifts  the  whole  subject  above  those  national 
and  artificial  barriers  that  men  erect  between  themselves  ;  it  lifts 
it  above  the  realm  of  racial  types  and  local  phases;  it  lifts  it 
above  the  incidents  and  accidents  and  tragedies  of  history  into 
the  clearer  vision  of  the  universality  of  Christ  and  the  unity  of 
His  Body,  the  Church.  Multitudinous  difficulties  automatically 
disappear  as  saints  and  scholars  of  many  lands  and  Churches  meet 
to  contemplate  a  world  Saviour,  saving  a  whole  world,  through 
a  world  Church. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  world  character  of  the 
plan  be  kept  in  mind  in  such  a  local  meeting  as  this.  We  repre- 

[  24  ] 


sent  but  one  of  many  countries,  and  that  one  only  in  part.  We 
represent  only  a  portion  of  the  Christian  world  geographically 
and  ecclesiastically.  It  is  of  the  essence  of  the  proposed  conference 
that  opportunity  for  participation  not  only  in  the  conference,  but 
in  the  previous  arrangements  for  it,  shall  be  pressed  home  to  every 
part  of  Christendom.  For  this  reason  scrupulous  care  should  be 
exercised  that  a  local  gathering  of  this  sort  should  not  unwittingly 
create  a  prejudicial  atmosphere  into  which  all  other  Christians 
might  hesitate  to  come.  How  often  it  has  happened,  dear  brethren, 
that  you  and  I  have  been  invited  to  take  part  in  some  movement, 
toward  which  our  sympathies  inclined,  but  in  which  we  could  not 
conscientiously  join  because  certain  premises  and  presuppositions 
had  unconsciously  been  built  into  the  foundations.  These  diffi¬ 
culties  would  not  have  existed  if  those  who  were  invited  to  join 
in  the  movement  had  also  been  asked  to  join  in  laying  the  founda¬ 
tions.  So  it  is  with  this  movement  which  we  are  trying  to  launch. 
Speaking  for  myself  only,  I  am  prepared  to  admit  without  any 
mock  humility,  that,  living  as  we  do  in  more  or  less  isolation  in 
our  divided  Christendom,  I  have  probably  acquired  certain  stereo¬ 
typed  habits  of  mind  which  make  me  incapable  of  reproducing 
the  mental  habits  and  attitudes  of  many  who  are  better  Christians 
than  I  am.  Consequently  I  confess  incompetence  for  laying  the 
foundations  on  which  others  are  to  be  asked  to  build.  All  those 
who  are  to  be  invited  to  take  part  in  the  conference  should  also  be 
invited  to  take  part  in  the  steps  leading  toward  it.  The  Churches 
of  Sweden  and  Norway  and  Denmark  and  Russia  and  Germany  and 
England  and  Scotland  and  other  lands ;  the  missionary  Churches 
of  Asia  and  Africa  in  their  close  contact  with  the  non-Christian 
world;  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  knows  no  national 
boundaries  but  which  has  such  wide  international  power  and  in¬ 
fluence;  the  ancient  Churches  of  Asia  Minor,  whose  conservatism 
in  the  face  of  long-continued  persecutions  may  enable  them  to 
teach  the  world  a  great  deal  about  the  primitive  contents  of  Chris¬ 
tianity, —  all  these  should  have  the  privilege  somehow  of  getting 
in  on  the  ground  floor.  Our  task,  therefore,  as  a  sectional  confer¬ 
ence,  is  to  do  those  things  which  we  ought  to  do  to  further  the 
conference,  and  to  leave  undone  those  things  which  we  ought  not 

[  25  ] 


to  do  lest  we  encroach  on  the  domain  of  others.  So  long  as  there 
is  a  ray  of  hope,  the  ecumenical  character  of  the  conference  should 
be  steadfastly  maintained. 

The  point  of  contact  in  the  proposed  conference  is  belief  in 
Jesus  Christ  as  God  and  Saviour.  No  other  point  of  contact  is 
considered  essential  to  the  conference.  No  previous  recognition, 
on  the  part  of  any  Church,  of  the  claims  or  tenets  of  any  other 
Church,  can  be  demanded,  under  the  terms  of  the  conference,  as 
a  preliminary  basis  of  negotiation.  Each  body  comes  into  the  con¬ 
ference  on  the  basis  of  its  own  estimate  of  itself,  without  the  aban¬ 
donment  of  any  distinctive  belief  or  differentiating  principle.  For 
the  purpose  of  the  conference  and  as  members  of  the  conference, 
all  come  in  on  the  same  level  —  the  same  lofty  level  of  belief  in 
Jesus  Christ.  Everything  else  is  subject-matter  for  conference. 

The  object  of  the  conference  is  the  study  and  discussion  in  the 
spirit  of  love  and  forbearance,  in  personal  eye-to-eye  contact,  of 
the  things  in  which  Christians  differ  as  well  as  the  things  in  which 
they  are  of  one  mind.  Personal  contact  between  representatives  of 
unlike  groups  is  regarded  as  a  fundamental  element  in  the  solu¬ 
tion  and  removal  of  difficulties. 

The  hope  of  the  conference  is  that  personal  contact,  mutual 
counsel,  interchange  of  ideas,  and  united  prayer  will  prove  to  be 
a  step  toward  unity. 

The  belief  of  those  who  are  promoting  the  conference  is  that 
the  time  is  ripening  for  it,  that  world  conditions  demand  it,  and 
that  providential  circumstances  are  compelling  Christ’s  followers 
to  draw  together  into  compact  unity  and  solidarity. 

As  we  look  out  upon  the  world  to-day  we  see  it  engaged  in  a 
war  of  indescribable  destructiveness.  Nation  is  fighting  against 
nation,  Christian  against  Christian,  Catholic  against  Catholic, 
Protestant  against  Protestant,  culture  against  culture.  It  is  a  situ¬ 
ation  to  make  men  and  angels  weep.  Men  are  seriously  asking 
whether  Christianity  has  failed.  We  answer,  No.  Christianity  has 
not  failed,  but  our  civilization  is  threatened,  because,  though  it 
contains  many  Christians,  it  is  not  corporately  Christian.  It  is  a 
legitimate  question  as  to  whether  a  united  Church  might  not  have 
preserved  peace  in  the  world. 

[  26  ] 


We  look  out  upon  the  Christian  Church  to-day  and,  in  spite 
of  its  interior  indestructible  unity,  we  see  it  externally  rent  and 
torn  asunder,  largely  disintegrated  and  individualistic,  unable 
to  mould  the  national  conscience,  or  to  influence  the  continental 
mind,  or  to  weave  itself  bodily  into  the  warp  and  woof  of  our  civ¬ 
ilization.  One  does  not  have  to  deny  the  contribution  which  each 
Church  has  made  to  the  totality  of  Christian  experience ;  one  does 
not  have  to  deny  the  religious  values  for  which  each  Church  has 
stood;  one  does  not  have  to  deny  these  things  in  order  to  affirm 
that  isolation  and  separation  and  disintegration  are  imperilling 
the  power  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

A  bleeding  world  and  a  bewildered  Christendom  are  crying 
aloud,  How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long,  until  Peace  be  established 
amongst  the  nations  and  Unity  be  realized  between  the  Churches  ? 
The  world- wide,  Church-wide  conference  is  an  attempt  at  an  ad¬ 
vance  toward  a  world  need  and  the  fulfilment  of  a  world  prayer. 

In  the  face  of  world  conditions  to-day,  in  the  face  of  religious 
conditions  to-day,  does  any  Christian  dare  or  care  to  stand  aloof 
from  a  movement  so  full  of  mutual  trust  and  confidence,  so 
considerate  in  matters  of  conscience,  so  charged  with  loyalty  to 
Christ  and  His  Church? 


[  27  ] 


The  Publications  previous  to  this  were: 

1.  Report  and  Resolution  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  sug¬ 
gesting  the  Conference,  and  Report  and  Resolutions  of  the  Na¬ 
tional  Council  of  the  Congregational  Churches  of  the  United 
States  looking  to  Reunion  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

2.  Report  and  Resolution  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  sug¬ 
gesting  the  Conference. 

3.  Report  of  April  20,  191 1,  of  the  Committee  on  Plan  and  Scope 
of  the  Commission  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

12.  The  World  Conference  and  the  Problem  of  Unity.  By  the  Rev. 
Francis  J.  Hall,  D.D. 

13.  Letter  to  the  Council  of  the  Old  Catholic  Churches  in  Europe. 

14.  An  Official  Statement  by  the  Commission  of  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  Church. 

15.  Prayer  and  Unity. 

16.  Questions  of  Faith  and  Order  for  Consideration  by  the  Proposed 
Conference.  By  the  Rt.  Rev.  A.  C.  A.  Hall,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Ver¬ 
mont. 

17.  A  Bibliography  of  Topics  related  to  Church  Unity.  By  the  Rev. 
F.  J.  Hall,  D.D. 

18.  Unity  or  Union:  Which?  By  the  Rt.  Rev.  P.  M.  Rhinelander, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania. 

19-  The  Conference  Spirit. 

20.  The  Manifestation  of  Unity.  By  the  Rt.  Rev.  C.  P.  Anderson,  D.D., 
Bishop  of  Chicago. 

21.  List  of  Commissions  appointed  up  to  October  22,  1915. 

23.  Report  to  the  General  Convention  of  1913  of  the  Protestant  Epis¬ 
copal  Chui’ch  by  the  Commission  appointed  by  that  Church. 

24.  A  Fii’st  Preliminaiy  Conference. 

25.  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Church  Unity  of  the  National  Coun¬ 
cil  of  Congregational  Churches,  1913. 

26.  A  Woi'ld  Movement  for  Christian  Unity.  By  the  Rev.  Lefferd  M.  A. 
Haughwout. 

27.  Second  Meeting  of  the  Advisory  Committee.  Report  of  the  Second 
Deputation  to  Great  Britain.  The  Call  for  a  Truce  of  God. 

28.  The  Object  and  Method  of  Conference. 

29.  A  Manual  of  Pi'ayer  for  Unity. 

Numbers  J/.-11,  inclusive,  and,  22  are  translations  of  Number  2  into  Mod¬ 
ern  Greek,  Latin,  Italian,  Russian,  Swedish,  German,  French,  Dutch  and 

Spanish. 


[  28  ] 


PRAYERS 


The  following  are  the  Prayers  which  have  been  suggested  for  Pub¬ 
lic  and  Private  Use.  They  may  be  obtained ,  printed  on  a  card ,  in 
any  quantity ,  on  application  to  the  Secretary,  Robert  H.  Gardiner , 
Post  Office  Box  1153 ,  Gardiner,  Maine,  U.S.  A. 

PRAYERS  FOR  THE  PEACE  AND  UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

OLORD  Jesus  Christ,  Who  saidst  unto  Thine  Apostles,  Peace  I 
leave  with  you,  My  peace  I  give  unto  you ;  Regard  not  our  sins, 
but  the  faith  of  Thy  Church,  and  grant  her  that  peace  and  unity 
which  is  agreeable  to  Thy  will,  Who  livest  and  reignest  God  for  ever 
and  ever.  Amen. 

OGOD  of  Peace,  Who  through  Thy  Son  Jesus  Christ  didst  set 
forth  One  Faith  for  the  salvation  of  mankind;  Send  Thy  grace 
and  heavenly  blessing  upon  all  Christian  people  who  are  striving  to 
draw  nearer  to  Thee,  and  to  each  other,  in  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  and 
in  the  bond  of  peace.  Give  us  penitence  for  our  divisions,  wisdom  to 
knoAv  Thy  truth,  courage  to  do  Thy  will,  love  which  shall  break  down 
the  barriers  of  pride  and  prejudice,  and  an  unswerving  loyalty  to  Thy 
Holy  Name.  Suffer  us  not  to  shrink  from  any  endeavor,  which  is  in 
accordance  with  Thy  will^  for  the  peace  and  unity  of  Thy  Church. 
Give  us  boldness  to  seek  only  Thy  glory  and  the  advancement  of  Thy 
Kingdom.  Unite  us  all  in  Thee  as  Thou,  O  Father,  with  Thy  Son  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  art  One  God,  world  without  end.  Amen. 

OLORD  Jesus  Christ,  look  with  pity,  we  beseech  Thee,  upon  Thy 
Church  weakened  and  hindered  by  differences  and  divisions; 
bless  the  effort  to  bring  together  in  conference  all  who  confess  the 
faith  of  Thy  Holy  Name,  Who  livest  and  reignest  with  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  God,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 


